New Standard Assures Sustainability in Carpets

A Guide to Specifying Low-Impact Materials
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Sustainable Carpet Attributes

Sustainability is defined as meeting the demands of today without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Applied to carpets, sustainability issues cover all phases of a product's life cycle. In order to appreciate the potential of the new NSF 140-2007 standard in improving carpet specification decisions, it is first important to understand some of the key sustainability issues faced by the carpet industry and how the industry is responding.

It is also important to understand the impact of cleaning and maintenance on the useful life of as carpet. The best constructed carpet in the world will not last very long if a good cleaning and maintenance program is not in place.

 

In commercial applications, over 90 percent of the fibers used are Nylon.
Photo courtesy of The Carpet and Rug Institute.

 

Public Health and the Environment
The manufacturing of carpet requires significant amounts of natural resources and results in sizable emissions of greenhouse gases-all of which the industry has been successfully working to reduce. The industry has less carbon dioxide emissions per square yard now than in 1990 while producing 40 percent more product. The carpet industry reductions support the goals of the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which amends the international treaty on climate change, assigning required emission limits to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Finishing and dyeing typically can involve substantial quantities of water. In the period between 1990 and 2002, water consumption at the mill level has decreased by 46 percent. ²

Energy and Energy Efficiency
In terms of total energy consumption, the industry reports a 41 percent reduction in Btus per square yard of carpet manufactured in the years between 1995 and 2002. ³ To further reduce energy consumption, companies will look to expand new energy technologies such as renewable fuels, fluidized beds, and using carpet waste to produce energy. Manufacturing schedules will continue to be modified to reduce energy consumption.

Biobased, Recycled Content and Environmentally Preferable (EPP) Materials
Purchasing carpet and other products with biobased, recycled content or EPP materials ensures that a demand exists for these products. This demand creates an outlet for recycled carpet and materials, which reduces the use of landfill space, as well as reducing natural resource, energy and environmental impacts associated with extracting, transporting, and manufacturing virgin, petrochemical -based raw materials. The U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Green Building Rating Systemâ„¢ favors recycled materials. A switch to biobased, recycled content or EPP materials in a project can meet the same industry performance and carries the same manufacturer warranties as carpet without biobased, recycled content or EPP materials. Purchasing carpets certified to the NSF 140-2007 is acting favorably towards the environment.

Manufacturing
The increase in globalization and technology has ratcheted up the impacts of business on local communities. In terms of raw material acquisition and manufacturing, carpet industry companies have an opportunity to address several sustainability issues. Enhanced health and safety for workers and consumers, a shared environmental agenda with local communities, fair labor practices and working conditions, and human rights policies and procedures throughout the supply chain are all concerns that factor into a product's sustainability quotient. This element of sustainability is also factored into the NSF 140-2007 standard.

 

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Originally published in GreenSource.
Originally published in October 2007

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